Browning is a columnist for the Guardian
in London, and this collection of his daily drolleries surprised everyone by becoming a huge hit in the U.K. last Christmas; it was number one on the Amazon list. It's a bathroom book or one for the night table, full of short takes with a great deal of no-nonsense (well, maybe a little nonsense) charm on such subjects as men and women, love and marriage, politics (although the work isn't political), religion (not that, either), fashion, cooking and such quintessentially British subjects as idling and pottering. Each column is presented as a "how to," so there's "How to Eat Cereal," for instance (never let someone else pour the milk). Following that is "How to Have a Bad Day" (don't inflict bad days on yourself in the first place, but there's more to it than that). The author has written a few extra essays just for the American edition, and the fun might be in trying to figure out which these are (certainly not "How to Have a Shed"). The book's dedication—"to His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, a King-sized good egg"—offers an oblique clue to the author's social circle and the book's take. Agent, Sloan Harris
. (Oct.)
